Titan RB has roots in Dayton

Sunday’s game

Tennessee Titans (1-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-0)

1 p.m.

TV: Chs. 7, 12

Radio: 1530-AM, 102.7-FM, 104.7-FM

Tennessee Titans rookie running back Bishop Sankey might have been one of the best high school football players in Dayton history had it not been for a higher calling.

Sankey grew up in Fairborn, where he starred at Baker Middle School and St. Helen. But just before he was to begin his high school career, his Air Force father, Chris, was transferred from Wright Patterson to Spokane, Wash., where Bishop went on to excel at Gonzaga Preparatory School and later the University of Washington.

“Dayton’s a place I hold dear to my heart,” said Bishop, whose name comes from the character played by Tupac Shakur in the 1992 movie “Juice.”

“I lived in Dayton from the time I was 7 to 14, and my best friend is from Fairborn,” he added. “There’s still a lot of people I know back there.”

Sankey has family in Wadsworth and Akron, and his mom, Julie Becker, lives in Cleveland. Many of them flew to Spokane in May for his draft party and celebrated when the Titans made him the first running back taken with the 54th pick overall — two selections ahead of another Dayton product, former Jefferson High and Indiana Univeristy wide receiver Cody Latimer.

“It was such a great feeling,” Sankey said of being the first running back selected. “My family flew out from Ohio and they came out to my dad’s house to enjoy the moment. It was a great deal all the way around.”

Sankey, who turned 22 Monday, rushed for a school-record 1,870 yards and 20 touchdowns last year as a junior at Washington, finishing his three-year college career with 3,496 yards and a school-record 37 TDs.

Listed as the No. 2 running back on the Tennessee depth chart behind Shonn Greene, Sankey has eight carries for 28 yards through the first two games, although he’s expected to see that workload increase as the season goes along.

“He’s progressing well,” said Titans quarterback Jake Locker, a fellow UW product. “I think that he’s picking up the mental aspect of protections, all those sorts of things. He’s doing a good job really growing in that and getting better and better each week.”

Still a few credit hours short of earning a degree in communications, Sankey said that is something he intends to do next offseason. But for the time being, he is entirely focused on football, beginning with Sunday’s trip to Paul Brown Stadium.

“I’ve actually been in that stadium before to watch Centerville and Wayne play in the playoffs,” he said. “It’s exciting to think I get to come back to Ohio this weekend and I’ll be the one out there on that field.”